Stress breaker assembly for artificial dentures



R. J. LUDWIG Aug. 19, 1952 STRESS BREAKER ASSEMBLY FOR ARTIFICIAL DENTURES F-iled s e' t. 11, 1950 INVENTOR. Fd/h d Adah 9 Patented Aug. 19, 1952 j This invention relates to artificial denturesand particularly the means forsecurin'g the sameto the so-called abutment or anchor tooth next adjacent to the end of the denture, and the primary aim is to-pr'ovide'a-unique, novel and strong assembly capable of securing theartifici'aldenture' in the operative position yet allowing for movement thereof without imparting destructive forces to the aforesaid abutment or anchor tooth. I Another importantobject of this invention is the provision of unique and efiective parts for embodying the broad concepts of the invention, which parts are so interrelated as to be'capable :of forming a coupling betweenthe artificial denture and'the anchor tooth as 'a'fsufiicient amount of free movement is permitted to insure preservationofthe'anchor tooth, whether the artificial denture be ofthe removable or permanent type; A'yet further aim 'of this invention is the provision of an-assembly of the aforesaid character that is in the naimre 'of a stress breaker disposed between ananchor tooth and an artificial denture to whiclia portion of thestress breaker is" attached. a, f 1 i Asis well known in'the art, artificial dentures when -se'cured'to permanent teeth impart a tremendous-amount of destructive strain to the said teeth' and, within a relatively short period of time, destroythe anchor teeth and thereby cause the removal thereof and the remaking of the artificial denture to include the anchor tooth which has thus been rendered useless.

It' has been found that the use of my stress breaker assembly for artificial dentures will absorb the normal movement of the said denture and thereby insure the permanent anchor tooth against actions that tend to destroy the same. Specific details of constructionembodying minor yet important objects of the invention, the manner of creating the stress breakerand efiectively utilizing the same will-appear during the ,course of' jt he following specification; referring fto'the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of two bridges held in place and anchoring permanent teeth through the medium of the stress breaker embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a stretched-out, enlarged, detailed, perspective view of the parts forming that portion of the stress breaker that are anchored to the bridge or other artificial denture.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the parts shown in Fig. 2 after the same have been assembled together and with the clasp.

Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 but with a part 2 Claims.

STRESS B EAKER ASSEMBLY FOR ARTIFICIAL DENTURES 1 Ralph'I Ludwig, Tucson, Ariz.

' ii-Anplication' September 11, o,-'seria1'No; 184,152, (01. 32-7) of the head'ground'away to"'permit. a' relative movement between the post "and sleeve; 'a'nd,"-

' "Fig.3 is-an enlarged,fragmentary, detailed,

sectional view taken on line V--V of Fig. 1.

'In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the removable bridgeisi broadly designated by the numeral- Ill and comprises an "a'crylic'base l2 and the restoration teeth M. After -the-parts are constructed as shown in Figs. 2- and 3, anchor I6 is imbedded in base I 2 ma manner hereinafter set down with post 18 extending through 'sleeve 20 andftlijer-e held by head 22 whichhas been soldered to post 18 as at2'4." A

flange '26 on head 22 maintains the parts in the condition shown-'in Fie'. 3 until"the flange 26 anda portion f-pO'St-I B are ground away as illustrated in Fig. 4; and 'at'a time -to be'hereinafter'defined. I

Sleeve 2Q has a clasp '28 secured thereto,'-and this clasp embraces or grips the "anchor'toot'h 30, as shown inFigs. 1 and 5. With 'the'p'arts assembled as shown in Fig 5, movement of'the dentureconsisting of base I2 and teeth !4 through a path of travel'in=thedirection of the arrow shown in Fig. 5 ispermitted without imparting stress to anchor tooth 30. v

I'h'us, the destructive action usually'imparted to anchor teeth where there is no freedomof movement between the denture and anchor tooth is eliminated. Obviously, claspZBmaybebf a" permanent character, and the bridge or artificial denture would not then be removable. This in vention is not limited to either removable or fixed dentures, and the form of-the parts maybe different from that illustrated; 1 I g 15 In many instances, after the insertion of any restoration in the mouth, there'is an absorption of the process that allows the restoration to settle -to a lower level, out of occlusion with the Q p l o'si ng' teeth in the mouth. This is commonly known as gum shrinl zag e. The'stress breaker formed and installed as above described and illustrated eliminates entirely allof'the stress which is usually placed on an abutment tooth or teeth and which is due to the aforesaid absorption of the process, for the stress breaker allows the restoration to move in its entirety downwardly over the gums and in an even manner without pivotal action about any fixed point, as has heretofore been the case where an artificial denture has been secured to an anchor tooth.

When the flange 26 is ground away as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a uniform upward or downward movement of the restoration l0 and which includes all replacement teeth 14 will occur; and

3 post l8 together with the head 22 will ride vertically in a, path parallel to the disposition of the axis of post T8.

In actual practice, the maximum movement is approximately three (-3) millimeters, and the downward movement will be limited either by the shoulder 32 formed within sleeve 20 or by base 12 striking the upper surface of the underlying gum 3-4. In actual practice, it has been found that post I 8 may be formed of fourteen (14) gauge round material with an approximate length of five millimeters formed integrallywith anchor l6 and extending upwardly froma shoulder 36 provided on said anchor l6.

l8 must be perpendicular to the face of this shoulder 36.

Sleeve 22 is approximately four and one-hal (4 /2) millimeters in length, and the lower portion or smaller bore of the sleeve between shoulder 32 and the normally lower or inner end of sleeve .slidably fits post It. The bore of sleeve '20 between shoulder 32 and the normally upper :end thereof slidably receives head 22 when flange 26 is ground away. After the said grinding, the thickness of head 22 is substantially one (1) millimeter; and, during the assembly,.solder 24 is introduced Within 'a V-shaped recess formed between post 18 and the bevelled surface 38 on head '22.. j

The technique and method of assemblyis as follows: a

gFirst, wax the conventional case in the :usual manner, then assemble the parts shown in Fig.2; making certain that there is one. (1) millimeter between anchor l6 andthe upper part-of the gum 34 to allowa thickness of acrylic forming apart of base 12 to lie between anchor l6 "and the'gum when the work is completed. Have the top of sleeve ,20 flush with the topof the occlusal .rest

40 in anchor tooth .30. To achieve this, grind off 4 the top-only .of the post and'sleeve l8 and 20 respectively .until the required .length is obtained.

Post 18 should then be bevelled at its .upper end, and the head 22 attached to post 18 with sticky wax. The entire assembly should be microfilmed and the wax in the clasp or abutment softened to receive the assembled parts upon application of pressure. Post Hi must be absolutely perpendicular, both lingually-buccually and mesially-distally. If an artificial denture having :more than one stress breaker assembly is used, the posts thereof must be absolutely parallelto each other.

After the assembly is properly positioned, the wax should be extended up from a lingual bar retention to the small hole in anchor IS. The stress breaker assembly is then removed from the wax casting, after which casting takes place in-the usual'manner. After casting, clean the imprint-in the clasp with fine stone. Also, clean that part of sleeve 20 to which will be soldered the clasp; join clasp 28 to sleeve 20 and "attach anchor 16 to the lingual bar retention with sticky 4 wax. Invest in soldering investment, dry and then solder clasp 28 to sleeve 20; solder anchor IE to lingual bar retention; and solder head 22 to post 18. Polish the casting in the usual way; assemble on model, setup the teeth, and grind the tooth that contacts the sleeve 20 to a curvature that will fit the sleeve 20 as shown in Fig. 1. Process the case in the usual manner and finish -the'case completely.

After this is done, grind off the flange 26 as Well as the top of post l8 and head 22 so that the upper face of post l8 and head 22 are flush I with the top-of sleeve 20 as shown in Fig. 5. The

Post

; movement between sleeve 20 and clasp 28 should then be tested; and, if there is freedom to allow the sliding of post I8 within sleeve 20, the case 7 .is then ready for .insertion into the mouth.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1;. A stress breakerassembly for :an artificial denture including .a base and restoration teeth, said assembly comprising an anchor tooth clasp .havinga bore formed therein; :ananchor adapted to be embedded in the base-of the .artificialdenture; a post onthe anchor, reciprocablymounted in, the bore; an internal shoulder formedin the bore; a head on the post movable toward and from the shoulder for limiting movement of the postinthe bore in one direction; and a shoulder on the clasp engageable with' the anchor .etor limiting movement of the postin the opposite direction. I

.2. A stress breaker assembly-for an artificial denture of the ty e adapted to rest-upon th gum of the wearer and including a baserand restoration teeth, said assembly comprising an anchortooth clasp having .a. bore formed therein :and disposed with the axis thereof perpendicular to the top of the gum upon which the denture is t rest; ananchor adapted to be embeddedin the base of the artificial denture; an elongated post on'the 'anchor and reciprocably mounted in the bore for movement therein permitting movement of the denture toward the underlying gum, whereby to allow the denture to rest upon the gumas the latter. shrinks after application of thedenture, said post and bore being formed to prevent lateral movement of the denture radially of the post and swinging movement :of the anchor relative to the clasp transversely of the longitudinal :axis of said post.

.RALPH J. LUDWIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are 'of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date 1,665,975 Oscher Apr. 10, .1928 

